Meade hits treble winning form

Racing: Fog made viewing difficult at Fairyhouse but it was easy to see who took the honours as Noel Meade and Paddy Flood recorded…

Racing:Fog made viewing difficult at Fairyhouse but it was easy to see who took the honours as Noel Meade and Paddy Flood recorded a treble on the day the stable landed the Fighting Fifth with Go Native.

First the promising Cross Appeal ran out a narrow winner of the Winter Festival 3-Y-O Hurdle to maintain his unbeaten record over jumps.

Mosstown made the running, but Flood brought the 6-4 favourite to take it up at the final flight and win by three-quarters of a length from Action Master. Mosstown was another length back in third.

"He's an odd sort of a horse as he's loads of ability but he just does what he has to, and you'll probably never see him win by further," said Meade.

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"He's very big for a three-year-old so he should improve. We will run him at Leopardstown over Christmas and then go back there for the Grade One at the end of January. He's a contender for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham."

Donnas Palm then outpointed his only serious rival Mourad in the Ryans Cleaning Event Specialists Hurdle.

The evens joint-favourites were soon well clear of the other two runners and had the race to themselves from a long way out, Donnas Palm asserting in the closing stages to score by three lengths.

"There's not a whole lot between this lad and my other Grade One horses. We just sneaked this lad into the race on prize money," said Meade.

"That wasn't a bad performance, but because of his setback last year I didn't want to over-challenge him. We will wait until Leopardstown at Christmas and see what happens, but he's a horse going the right way."

The treble was completed when Grand National prospect Parsons Pistol (7-2) took the Bar One Racing Handicap Chase.